Chapter 3: The Man Who Knew Too Much
The phone kept ringing.
Daniel Cross.
My closest friend.
My business partner.
The man who had stood beside me when my father died.
The man who had helped me rebuild Mercer Aerospace after our biggest financial crisis.
The man whose name was sitting at the bottom of a document connected to secret transfers.
And now Vanessa was telling me he had been trying to warn me about her.
I stared at the screen.
Then at Vanessa.
“You expect me to believe that?””
Her face was pale.
“I expect you to stop trusting everyone except the person who has been trying to protect you.””
A bitter laugh escaped me.
“Protect me?””
I held up the bank statement.
“Your name is on an account receiving money from my company.””
She flinched.
“That isn’t what you think.””
“Then explain it.””
She opened her mouth.
Nothing came out.
That was the problem with lies.
Eventually, they ran out of places to hide.
Maria stood slowly, still rubbing her wrists.
“Mr. Mercer…”
I looked at her.
“Are you okay?””
She nodded.
But her eyes were fixed on Vanessa.
“There is something you should know.””
Vanessa immediately stepped forward.
“Maria.””
The warning in her voice was obvious.
I turned toward her.
“Don’t.””
For once, Vanessa listened.
Maria took a shaky breath.
“Miss Vanessa wasn’t only asking about your accounts.””
“What else?””
“She asked about your father’s old files.””
My expression changed.
“What files?””
Maria looked toward the hallway.
“The ones in your study.””
I felt my stomach tighten.
My father’s files.
Most people didn’t even know they existed.
After he died, I had spent months going through everything he left behind. Contracts. Notes.
Letters. Personal records.
There was one box I never touched.
Not because I forgot about it.
Because I wasn’t ready.
My father had written my name on it.
And beneath my name, he wrote one sentence.
*Open this when you finally understand who stands beside you.*
I had always assumed it was about business.
A lesson.
A warning.
But now…
I wasn’t sure.
My phone stopped ringing.
A second later, a message appeared.
From Daniel.
*Please answer. It’s about Vanessa.*
I looked at Vanessa.
She saw the message.
Her face changed.
“You need to talk to him.””
I narrowed my eyes.
“Why are you suddenly helping me?””
“Because I know what happens if you don’t.””
The way she said it bothered me.
Not because it sounded like a threat.
Because it sounded like fear.
“Vanessa.””
She looked at me.
“What?””
“Tell me the truth.””
Her eyes filled slightly.
For a moment, I saw the woman I thought I knew.
The woman who used to fall asleep on my shoulder during late-night movies.
The woman who held my hand at my father’s funeral.
The woman who promised she loved me before she ever knew how much money I had.
Then the moment disappeared.
“I made mistakes,” she whispered.
“What kind of mistakes?””
She looked down.
“Big ones.””
“That isn’t an answer.””
“No.””
Her voice cracked.
“It isn’t.””
I waited.
Finally, she said:
“Daniel can explain better than I can.””
I picked up the phone.
Before I answered, I looked at Maria.
“Go upstairs. Lock yourself in the guest room.””
Maria hesitated.
“What about you?””
“I’ll handle this.””
She gave a small nod.
As she walked away, she stopped beside me.
“Your father was a good man.””
I looked at her.
“He trusted people.””
Maria’s voice lowered.
“But he also knew when someone was pretending.””
Then she left.
I answered the call.
“Daniel.””
Silence.
Then a breath.
“Elijah.””
His voice sounded exhausted.
Not nervous.
Not defensive.
Exhausted.
“Where are you?””
“At the office.””
“Why?””
“Because I didn’t know if you would believe me.””
I looked at Vanessa.
“Start talking.””
Another pause.
Then:
“Are you alone?””
“No.””
Daniel sighed.
“Is Vanessa there?””
“Yes.””
Another silence.
Then he said something that made Vanessa close her eyes.
“She knows.””
I frowned.
“What does that mean?””
“It means she knows I found out.””
Vanessa whispered, “Daniel…”
I turned toward her.
“You two have been talking?””
She didn’t answer.
Daniel continued.
“Elijah, I need you to listen carefully. Do not accuse her yet.””
My jaw tightened.
“Why?””
“Because if she realizes you know everything, she’ll disappear.””
“Everything?””
“Yes.””
I looked at the bank statement.
“What exactly am I supposed to know?””
Daniel’s voice dropped.
“Vanessa has been moving company money.””
“I already know that.””
“No.””
His tone became serious.
“You know about the account. You don’t know why it exists.””
I walked toward the window.
Rain had started outside.
Heavy drops crashed against the glass.
“Then tell me why.””
Daniel was quiet for several seconds.
“She wasn’t stealing for herself.””
I looked back at Vanessa.
“What?””
“She was paying someone.””
“Who?””
“I don’t know.””
The answer irritated me.
“You don’t know?””
“I know the account numbers. I know the transfers. I know the dates. But whoever is receiving the money covered their tracks.””
I looked at Vanessa.
“Then why would she be afraid?””
Daniel answered immediately.
“Because whoever she’s paying has something on her.””
Vanessa lowered her head.
I felt something shift.
The story I had built in my mind was changing.
I thought Vanessa was the villain.
Maybe she was.
But villains rarely looked afraid of other villains.
“What did you find?”” I asked.
Daniel hesitated.
“Elijah…”
“Tell me.””
“I found a connection between Vanessa and a company called Northbridge Holdings.””
The name meant nothing.
“Who are they?””
“That’s the problem.””
“What problem?””
“They don’t officially exist.””
I frowned.
“That’s impossible.””
“No. It’s expensive.””
I said nothing.
Daniel continued.
“Shell companies. Fake directors. Offshore accounts. The kind of structure people use when they don’t want anyone tracing money.””
I looked at Vanessa.
She was listening.
Her hands were shaking.
“How long have you known?””
“Three months.””
“Three months?””
“I was trying to confirm everything before I came to you.””
I laughed once.
A humorless sound.
“You were investigating my fiancée behind my back.””
“Yes.””
The honesty surprised me.
“Why?””
“Because I found her accessing files she shouldn’t have had access to.””
My eyes moved toward Vanessa.
Daniel continued.
“And because she wasn’t alone.””
The room went silent.
“What do you mean?””
“I mean someone inside Mercer Aerospace was helping her.””
I tightened my grip on the phone.
“Who?””
Daniel didn’t answer.
“Daniel.””
“I don’t know yet.””
“Then why are you calling me?””
“Because I found something today.””
“What?””
A pause.
Then:
“The person helping Vanessa has access to your private records.””
My chest tightened.
“How?””
“I don’t know.””
Daniel lowered his voice.
“But they knew things only three people should know.””
I looked around the room.
The house suddenly felt different.
The walls.
The cameras.
The locked doors.
Everything that had once felt safe now felt like a place full of hidden eyes.
“Who are the three people?””
Daniel answered.
“You.””
A pause.
“Me.””
Another pause.
“And your father.””
I froze.
“What?””
“Your father’s old files were accessed last week.””
My heart stopped.
“By who?””
Daniel didn’t answer immediately.
Then he said:
“Someone using your credentials.””
I looked at Vanessa.
She looked back at me.
And I realized something.
The woman standing in front of me wasn’t the only person hiding secrets.
Someone had been inside my company.
Inside my home.
Inside my life.
And they had been there long before I came home early.
“Daniel.””
“Yes?””
“Send me everything.””
“I will.””
“And Daniel?””
“What?””
“If you’re lying to me…”
“I’m not.””
“You better hope you’re not.””
I ended the call.
The room was silent.
Vanessa slowly walked toward me.
“You believe him now?””
I looked at her.
“I don’t know what I believe.””
That hurt her.
I could see it.
But I couldn’t ignore what had happened.
She stopped a few feet away.
“Elijah, I need you to understand something.””
“What?””
“I never wanted this.””
I looked at the rope lying on the floor.
“You tied Maria to a column.””
Her eyes closed.
“I know.””
“Why?””
She didn’t answer.
“Why, Vanessa?””
When she finally spoke, her voice was barely above a whisper.
“Because I was trying to scare her.””
“Why?””
“Because she found something.””
The room went cold.
“What did she find?””
Vanessa looked toward the staircase where Maria had disappeared.
Then back at me.
“She found the letter your father left you.””
My breathing stopped.
The letter.
The one I had never opened.
The one only my father and I knew about.
“How does Maria know about that?””
Vanessa’s face changed.
And in that moment, I knew.
There was another piece.
Something bigger.
Something she had been trying to hide from me.
“She didn’t find it by accident,” Vanessa whispered.
“What are you saying?””
She looked at me with tears in her eyes.
“Maria wasn’t cleaning your study that day.””
A chill ran through me.
“Then what was she doing?””
Vanessa swallowed.
“She was trying to protect you.””
Before I could respond, a loud crash came from upstairs.
Maria.
I ran toward the staircase.
“Maria!””
No answer.
I reached the guest room door.
It was open.
The room was empty.
The window was wide open.
And on the floor beside the bed was a piece of paper.
My father’s handwriting.
The letter.
The one that had disappeared years ago.
May you like
Except now, written across the top in fresh ink were six words.
*Elijah, don’t trust the person you love.*
